Royal National Lifeboat Institution

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Swanage lifeboat being winched up its slipway

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. It is largely a volunteer organisation founded on March 4, 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, adopting the present name in 1854. The organisation is funded entirely by membership fees, voluntary donations and legacies from members of the public. Its headquarters are based in Poole, Dorset, along with its new training college which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.

Contents

1 The Founder, Sir William Hillary
2 The RNLI in action
3 Classes of lifeboats in service
4 Roll of honour
5 See also
6 External links

The Founder, Sir William Hillary

William Hillary came to live on the Isle of Man in 1808, and later, as equerry to Prince Augustus Frederick, the young son of King George III, his duties included sailing with the prince in the Mediterranean, where William Hillary learned his basic seamanship and navigation skills.

Living in the Isle of Man, Sir William Hillary soon became aware of the treacherous nature of the Irish Sea, with many ships being wrecked around the Manx coast. He drew up plans for a lifeboat service manned by trained crews, intended not only for the Isle of Man, but for all of the coast in Britain. Initially he received little response from the Admiralty but on appealing to the more philanthropic members of London society, the plans were enthusiastically adopted and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was founded in 1824. The title changed 30 years later to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the first of the new lifeboats to be built was stationed at Douglas in recognition of the work of Sir William Hillary.

At the age of 60, Sir William Hillary took part in the rescue, in 1830, of the packet St George, which had foundered on Conister Rock at the entrance to Douglas harbour. He commanded the lifeboat, was washed overboard with others of the lifeboat crew, yet finally everyone aboard the St George was rescued with no loss of life.

It was this incident which prompted Sir William to set up a scheme to build [The Tower of Refuge] on Conister Rock - a project completed in 1832 which stands to this day at the entrance to Douglas harbour.

[Source: Visit Isle of Man]

The RNLI in action

The lifeboat at Brixham, south Devon, England, kept permanently afloat in the harbour.

Since the RNLI was founded, its lifeboats have saved over 137,000 lives.

The RNLI operates 5 classes of inshore lifeboats, both inflatable boats and RIBs, of 20-40 knots (37-74 km/h), and 6 classes of all-weather motor life boats with maximum speeds of 16-25 knots (30-46 km/h). It maintains an active fleet of 332 lifeboats based at 233 lifeboat stations. It also has an active fleet of 4 hovercraft introduced in 2002 allowing rescue in mud flats and river estuaries inaccessible to conventional boats. The crews of the lifeboats are almost entirely volunteers, the 4,600 sea-going crew members, including over 300 women are alerted by pagers backed up by maroons and attend the lifeboat station when alerted.

The RNLI also operates 59 Beach Lifeguard Units in the South West of England employing over 300 lifeguards.

In the United Kingdom, ships in distress or the public reporting an accident must call HM Coastguard on MF radio, VHF radio or dialling 112 or 999 on a telephone. In the Republic of Ireland they must call the Irish Coast Guard, or dial 112 or 999. The Coastguard co-ordinates rescue at sea and may call on the RNLI or their own land-based rescue personnel or rescue helicopters to take part. Air-Sea rescue helicopters are provided by the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Irish Air Corps.

Classes of lifeboats in service

A typical RNLI station, at Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales

Main category: .

The RNLI has two main categories of lifeboat:

All weather boats - Large boats that are capable of high speed in extreme weather conditions and have a large range.
Inshore lifeboats - Smaller boats that operate closer to the shore than all weather boats and are able to operate in shallower waters and closer to cliffs.

Roll of honour

1880 - The Wells-next-the-Sea lifeboat Eliza Adams went to the aid of the stricken brig Ocean Queen in heavy seas. The lifeboat capsized and 11 of her 13 crew were drowned. (See Wells lifeboat disaster).

1886 - St Anne's, Lytham and Southport lifeboats went to the assistance of a German barque, the Mexico in trouble in heavy seas. The St Anne's and Southport boats were lost with 27 lifeboatmen. (See Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster).

1899 - In one of the RNLI's most legendary feats, the Lynmouth lifeboat Louisa was hauled overland for over 10 hours to Porlock to go to the aid of a ship. On arrival she was launched immediately and stood by the stricken ship until daybreak, when a tug arrived.

1928 - The Rye Harbour lifeboat disaster, in which the Mary Stanford was capsized and 17 men lost their lives.

1941 - Henry Blogg, in the Cromer lifeboat crew since 1894, won his third RNLI Gold Medal. He also received the George Cross and the British Empire Medal. He is known as "The Greatest of all Lifeboatmen".

1947 - 8 crew of the Mumbles lifeboat died attempting to rescue the crew of SS Samtampa off south Wales, on 23 April 1947. A total of 45 lives were lost.

1981 - The Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne was lost going to the aid of the freighter Union Star. 16 lives were lost. (See Penlee lifeboat disaster).

External links